Staring at polls, Maharasthra government extends quota for Marathas, Muslims

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to extend job reservations to Marathas and Muslims, seeking to win over two important communities to claw back into the assembly contest after the rout in Lok Sabha elections. The assembly polls are to be held in October.
The state cabinet approved 16% quota for backward Marathas and 5% for Muslims in jobs and education.
The gambit — part of quota politics that Congress has resorted to in the recent past to overcome political handicaps like the inclusion of Jats in the OBC list ahead of parliamentary polls — could face serious judicial challenge.
The quota quantum that stood at 52% earlier has now shot up to 73%, way above the 50% ceiling fixed by the supreme court.
Also, reservation for Muslims, promulgated by the Centre during UPA-2 as also by Andhra Pradesh earlier, has been shot down by the judiciary in recent years, refusing to buy the argument that it was given on the basis of backwardness and not religion.
If the move is risky, it reflects the desperation in the ruling camp following the whitewash in the 2014 polls. The NCP-Congress combo could win only six seats while Shiv Sena-BJP alliance walked away with the rest of the 48 seats.
Congress-NCP, that has been in power for unbroken 15 years since 1999, concluded that the desertion by Marathas sealed their fate in parliamentary polls while Muslims too did not turn out with gusto to vote for the “secular” camp.
Politically, it is also estimated that appeasing Marathas would neutralize the religious polarization that quota for Muslims can trigger, a possibility that would help the rival saffron camp.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar had issued a sort of ultimatum demanding quota for Marathas before assembly polls, even threatening to split the alliance if his demand was not heeded.
While conceding that quota for Marathas and Muslims breached the 50% ceiling, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said his government was prepared to fight any judicial challenge that may arise.
“It’s a welfare measure for the backward communities. Under such circumstances, we don’t think any person will approach the court. If someone does, we will fight it out and justify the reservation,’’ he said.
He said the decision was not taken overnight but was result of over decade-long deliberations when the twin demands were first raised.
Following the decimation in the parliamentary elections, the NCP-Congress combine came to the conclusion that reservation was the only way left to win over the angry Marathas and Muslims.
A month ago, deputy CM of NCP Ajit Pawar had a marathon meeting with the chief minister on the reservation issue and it was agreed that the proposal be approved at the earliest. The ensuing delay did not go down well with Pawar who recently asked the Congress high command to hurry up in view of the coming assembly elections.